Thursday, May 24, 2007

Tag, You're It

I've been "tagged" apparently by someone named Rachel (??). I'm not sure I'm doing this right, but it seems like fun! I'm not sure I can find the requisite number of other bloggers to tag, but I'll do my best.

Here are the rules I was sent:
Here are the rules as posted by Turning Pages:1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Okay, 8 random things...got to make this interesting.

1. I was a twin, but my twin died a few hours after birth. I didn't find out about her until I was 12 years old. My mother told a friend of hers, and her daughter told me the story. I didn't believe it at first. I wanted to know where my twin (Mary) was buried, but my mother said she didn't know. Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like had she lived. But my younger sister and I are best friends and that might not have happened had Mary been around.
2. I spent 15 years working for the son of the artist Henri Matisse. Pierre Matisse owned a gallery in NYC and I was the gallery manager. He told THE most interesting stories! It was quite an experience.
3. My first husband had a heart attack at 44 and dropped dead on my kitchen floor. He had diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, etc. My 17 year old daughter was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago. Hopefully modern advances will make her life very different!
4. My other daughter will be 23 tomorrow! 23 years ago tonight I was sitting on the sofa in the living room timing my contractions (far, far apart). I was too excited to sleep so I spent all night reading and re-reading the first two pages of "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe. My second daughter was almost born in a Chinese restaurant.
5. I lived in NYC for 10 years which was wonderful! Then I commuted for almost another 20.
6. I hate oatmeal and any kind of mushy cereal or food stuff. It's not the taste, it's the texture.
7. I recently took up yoga which I LOVE.
8. I am SO boring. Trying to think of something for number 8. Okay. Not about me but family stuff. Both my grandmothers were very strong women. Jennie was a garment worker in NYC. Single parent when her husband died when my dad was 3. She raised/paid for a bunch of nieces and nephews too. She went on strike because the factory owners were Jewish and gave their workers Saturday off (their holy day). the worker were mostly Catholic and wanted Sunday off. So...they struck. And that's one of the origins of the two day weekend!
My other grandmother was from Hungary. Her family decided to immigrate to the US. She was only six and not able to work. They left her sitting in the train station on Christmas Eve while they started their journey to America. She was taken to an orphanage and then sent to work when she was 10. She worked for a Hungarian actress who taught her a lot. She finally came to this country after WWI when she was in her early 20s.

I need to tag some people, but first I need to figure out how to do that!

6 comments:

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

You can tag me if you like, as Rachel tagged me too and I'll be doing this on my blog next week. (Rachel is another of the novel racers, you'll find her in the list of novel racers on most of the novel racers' sidebars (e.g. mine) if you look)

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed reading that. Can you send a profile of yourself as I have been posting profile of all the novel racers. Me email is on my blog in the profile :-)

TBD said...

Holy Moly -

Now that's an interesting life! I loved it!

Don't tag me - I wouldn't even know where to begin.

I'm feeling very... ordinary.

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

Hi, am here on a semi-official visit from the novel racers to ask whether you still want to be in the race? We've noticed that you haven't been to the coffee breaks recently, and the new racers aren't being added to your sidebar. If you would like to stay with us, please leave a comment on Kate/Wordgirl's blog in the next week to say so (and we would also be grateful if you could put the novel racers on your sidebar). If you want to leave, you don't need to do anything and we'll take you off at the end of next week. If that's the case, you will always be welcome to return, again by leaving a comment on Kate's blog or sending her an email.

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

Hello again, apparently some people have been upset by my last message, I don't know if you are one of them but if you are please do accept my apologies. This subject has been under discussion at the last two coffee breaks and we thought we'd come up with a good way forward, but sometimes things come across differently than they are meant... there was no intention of wagging fingers or telling anyone off, just an attempt to find out who wanted to stay and who didn't as our sidebars are getting very long! I'm really very sorry if my comment upset you, and please do email me if this apology feels insufficient.

Anonymous said...

I already did this particular "exercise" or "meme," but if you need to tag someone in the future, I'm always up for an escape or tangent. ;-)

~Saoirse